Starbucks pickpocketing poster called ‘racist’

(Click image for a larger view.) Two Starbucks posters warning in French about pickpockets. The one on the left has proved controversial. (Starbucks image)

Starbucks is in hot water with the French over a poster some think equates shoplifting with the country’s racial minorities.

The poster, featured in Starbucks cafes, depicts a drawing of a dark-skinned man surrounded by a backpack, a cell phone, a day planner and a laptop computer. The text reads: “Be on guard against unusual behavior from a stranger. Don’t let pickpockets spoil your moment of relaxation at Starbucks. Keep an eye on your belongings.”

So, is the man a pickpocket? Or is he a watchful customer?

Starbucks says it’s the latter, but thelocal.fr reports some aren’t so sure.

From the English-language news site:

A customer in a Paris branch of the store took offence when he saw the poster and alerted anti-racist group, SOS Racisme. The group demanded the withdrawal of the poster, saying it “targeted a minority” and attributed “delinquent behaviour” to them, reported newspaper Ouest-France.

Starbucks issued a statement assuring customers that the man depicted in the ad isn’t a pickpocket — he’s a paying customer who’s simply keeping an eye on his belongings. A similar ad features a white woman watching her purse, bag, phone and laptop.